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The University of Chicago's new building for its Graduate School of Business cost $125 million and opened in 2004. B.FEINKN0PF THE B-SCHOOL'S I f you think of your educational programming as a prod- uct, then the building it's housed in becomes your pack- aging. Just like an item at the supermarket, your offer- ing must vie with hundreds of others to catch the atten- tion of shoppers. A package that's beautiful, functional,mem- orable, and true to the product inside can do much to sell your merchandise. That's themetaphor theUniversity ofOregon's Christopher Murray uses when he describes the impact of a well-designed building. He should know. Murray is the associate dean of external affairs for the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, which in 2003 completed a $41 million project, the Lillis Business Complex in Eugene, Oregon. Its environmentally friendly design solved a number of problems relating to space, traffic, and technology—and has given the school a brand-new identity to go along with a wholly redesigned curriculum. Similarly, before the Georgia Institute of Technology built the new building for its College ofManagement, the business school was housed in a small, shared building equipped with 30 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 by Sharon Shinn outdated technology. Not only did the school need the room to expand and upgrade, administrators felt that a new building would help it maintain its status among its main competitors. The new building offered intangible benefits as well. It is located in Technology Square, an Atlanta complex that hous- es a high-end hotel and several research and design centers. It also sits closer to downtown Atlanta than the rest of the university, helping the school meet its goal to develop stronger ties with the city. Designing business schools that solve prob- lems, make statements, exemplify the schools' missions, and resonate with their communities seems like a tall order. Yet today's new b-school buildings prove that administrators are up to the challenge. Trends in Design Two trends have dominated the construction boom among business schools: creating an exciting building and making that building suit the school's needs. "The need for function- ality has become more acute because of the recent flurry of With their striking exteriors and state-of-the-art technology, today's new business school buildings